Alignment and Suspension Setup at Texas Track Works

Alignment and Suspension Setup at Texas Track Works

Hunter RX Scissor Lift with Hunter HawkEye Alignment System

Because our main focus is performance suspension installation and setup, it’s normal for us to perform several alignments daily. We are constantly gathering alignment and suspension data from our customers who race as well as feedback from those who drive their cars on the street or at HPDEs. Each alignment performed by Texas Track Works is unique to that vehicle, as well as it’s modifications and what it will be used for (ie; road racing, track days, autocross, or as a daily driver).

In the past we aligned each car on a level surface using a string setup like you may have seen pro teams do at a race track. This method is effective but also time consuming; generally requiring over an hour to complete an alignment. Since it is crucial for our alignments to be performed in a timely manner and also be 100% accurate, the need for an alignment rack became obvious. The decision to purchase a top of the line Hunter alignment system came in May of 2010, and for several reasons.

When researching alignment equipment it was clear that Hunter Engineering is the world leader in wheel alignment systems as they have over 85% market share in over 100 different countries. By becoming the leaders in alignment system innovation and technology, they have established the standard for equipment in the high performance and racing industry. Hunter alignment systems are also used during final production assembly in nearly all car manufacturers such as: BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Porsche, as well as Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru,Toyota, and also here in the USA at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors manufacturing facilities. This means that Hunter has worked directly with each manufacturer to define the specific guidelines used to properly align your track car.

When we spec’d out our system we chose every single option available in the catalog and ordered the most optioned out Hunter rack in Texas. The RX Scissor Lift alignment rack was built to order and arrived two months later via specialized transport trucks that are only used to deliver Hunter alignment systems and MRI machines. Our rack was then installed by Hunter engineers to ensure accurate leveling at all height settings and our HawkEye aligner was then calibrated to the rack. After becoming acclimated to the software it was clear how much more quickly an accurate alignment could be performed due to the additional features we had chosen.

Almost every sportscar on the market is offered in a base model followed by the list of options and packages to make it lighter, accelerate faster, stop sooner, or pull more g’s in a turn. The same is true with this type of equipment and the reason ours has over $20k in available options is so that our alignments are that much better. For example, the computer controlled pneumatic turnplates eliminate the time our technicians would spend to manually prepare the rack for each alignment. These also allow us to perform accurate corner balancing in conjunction with an alignment.

Making sure that tire pressure is set correctly at all four corners is crucial when performing an alignment. Our system has an automatic inflation system that allows us to set and hold tire pressure automatically during the alignment procedure.

The optional built in lighting system allows us to inspect bushings, check for leaks, and look for any suspension related problems underneath the vehicle.

Even though our rack was delivered with the optional extended ramps, we fabricated aluminum ramp extenders to make sure that even the lowest splitters and air dams do not contact the rack.

Our system was delivered with vehicle ride height sensors and bumpsteer measuring/plotting capabilities. This feature enables us to diagnose and fix problematic handling characteristics in just minutes. It also allows us to fix handling problems encountered by lowering your vehicle.

Everyone at Texas Track Works has a passion for cars and racing. Because of that each one of us owns a track prepared car and we all have real driving experience at our local racetracks. This expertise and experience is something that just does not exist in your average tire and alignment shop or even at the dealership.

All of these benefits add up to the best alignment and suspension setup available anywhere in the DFW metroplex. On top of that, our alignment rates are lower than most big box stores or the dealership. And since we operate by scheduled appointment only, you won’t be stuck waiting an undetermined amount of time to have the work performed.